Swim & Dive Falls to Westfield State at Home Friday

Jan 19, 2018

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph swimming & diving team fell to the Westfield State University Owls, 186-78, at home on Friday evening in a dual meet inside Bruyette Natatorium. The Blue Jays were led by junior Gabriella Alberino (East Haven, Conn.) who accounted for a team-high 17 points on the night with a first-place swim and a pair of runner-up finishes.

The Blue Jays opened the meet with a second place finish in the 200 medley relay finishing with a combined team time of 2:28.81. Lead swimmer sophomore Leah Verrillo (Chesire, Conn.) was accompanied by junior Elizabeth Sears (Bristol, Conn.), senior Olivia Kajda (Katowice, Poland) and freshman Brittany Berube (Windsor Locks, Conn.) in the opening event.

Kajda followed in the second event with a runner-up swim. The senior captain touched the wall with a time of 15:20.35 in the taxing 1,000 free.

Freshman Amanda Thiel (Torrington, Conn.) placed on the podium in the 200 free after registering a time of 2:28.67, good for a third-place result.

In the 50 back, junior Veronika Latawiec (Newington, Conn.) picked up a second place finish with a final time of 31.59.

Standout junior breaststroker Annmarie Masayda (Watertown, Conn.) grabbed a silver medal in her first swim of the evening, the 50-yard breaststroke, with a time of 33.82.

Alberino would follow with the lone first-place swim of the dual meet for the Blue Jays, besting the field in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:07.93.

Alberino continued her impressive meet and snagged the next medal for USJ in the 100 free with a runner-up swim coming in at the 59.37 timestamp, just .58 off the pace of the winning time. Masayda joined Alberino on the podium in the event grabbing the bronze with a time of 1:02.00.

Latawiec posted her second backstroke runner-up result in the next event, the 100-yard back. She touched the wall at the 1:09.21 mark.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Masayda was at it again and was the top-finishing swimmer for USJ coming in second place with a time of 1:18.02.

Latawiec picked up a bronze in the 500 free with a time of 6:25.18 before Alberino rounded out the individual swimming events with a second-place result in the 200 IM with a time of 2:26.85.

Latawiec, Masayda, Thiel, and Alberino contested in the final event of the evening, the 200 free relay, turning in a combined time of 1:56.23, which was good for third.

From the diving board, Sears posted a second place finish after racking up 119.40 points across six dives from the 1-meter board.

UP NEXTThe USJ swimming and diving team will look to rebound and close out the season strong when it returns to the pool next in its final dual meet of the 2017-18 season at home with Senior Night on Friday, Jan. 26 against Western New England. The meet is scheduled to kickoff at 5:30 p.m.